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Former Levy Lab alum and 2nd year doctoral student Sharon Nelson was recently recognized in the May issue of the Eastern Michigan University, Psychology Department Newsletter for her presentation at the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration conference (SEPI). Sharon attended (SEPI) as an undergraduate student and took a lot away from this experience. When commenting on this she stated "One of the things that stuck with me the most was the need to be courageous in session and in therapy, which means everything from being brave and bringing up your errors or mistakes in supervision, discussing your fears with your supervisor, and not avoiding those scary therapy moments." Sharon greatly encourages both Graduate and Undergraduate students to attend next years conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Levy lab alum Sharon Marie Nelson recently took part in the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration(SEPI)'s30th annual meeting. The event was held in Montreal, Canada from April 10th -13th with the theme of Psychotherapy Integration in the Trenches: How Psychotherapy Integration is put into Practice. Sharon's talk was titled Integrating the Cognitive Affective Processing System (CAPS) into Psychotherapeutic Assessment and Technique. Dr. Kenneth Levy was also a plenarie speaker at the event discussing Psychotherapy Integration and different modes of treating the Borderline Personality. Sharon Nelson is currently a Ph.D. student at Eastern Michigan University, studying under the mentorship of Dr. Steven Huprich.

Congratulations Neil!

The Levy Lab team would like to congratulate senior research assistant and lab manager Neil Meyer on formally accepting his invitation to join Oklahoma State University's Ph.D. Clinical Psychology Program, . Neil will be attending the program on a full ride scholarship as well as under the mentorship of assistant professor Stephanie Mullins-Sweatt. Dr. Sweatt's research interests are focused on the conceptualization of personality disorders using general personality models and on the clinical applications of personality models within the personality disorder nomenclature.

Clinical Psychology is an extremely competitive field, specially when it comes to successfully gaining admittance into a Ph.D. program. The fact that Neil can add this achievement to his repertoire serves as clear evidence for his past accomplishments and amazing potential. Congratulations Neil, we look forward to hearing all about your groundbreaking successes in the near future!

Congratulations Jen!

We are proud to announce that Levy lab senior research assistant and cortisol coordinator Jennifer Fox was recently invited to join Teach for America (TFA). TFA is a well renowned program that focuses on reaching unprivileged areas and populations all across the country, with the purpose of achieving the highest level of educational equality. Some of the qualities they look for in their prospective teachers are high levels of commitment, leadership skills, superior interpersonal skills, strong academic achievement, great critical thinking skills, and respect for diversity in background and personal experiences. Jennifer has been assigned to serve as a middle school sciences teacher in Chicago, Illinois. Congratulations Jennifer!

The Levy Lab team is proud to announce the following lab alumni who have been accepted into various graduate programs. We would like to congratulate the following alumni on their exciting achievements and future plans!

Congratulations and Good Luck!

Ashton Roach

The Levy Lab team would like to congratulate 2010 alum Ashton Roach for being accepted into the masters of science program in clinical mental health counseling at Northern Kentucky University.

Neil Meyer

The Levy Lab team would like to congratulate senior research assistant and lab manager Neil Meyer on formally accepting his invitation to join Oklahoma State University's Ph.D. Clinical Psychology Program. Neil will be attending the program on a full-ride scholarship as well as under the mentorship of assistant professor Stephanie Mullins-Sweatt. Dr. Sweatt's research interests are focused on the conceptualization of personality disorders using general personality models and on the clinical applications of personality models within the personality disorder nomenclature.

Matthew Perlman

The Levy Lab team is beyond thrilled to announce that research assistant and lab manager Matthew Perlman recently received and accepted an invitation to join Ohio University's Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Program. Matt will be studying under the mentorship of Dr. Timothy Anderson, an associate professor at the university who specializes in psychotherapy research. Dr. Anderson’s primary research interest is on the influence of interpersonal processes on psychosocial treatment.

Kate Benson

We are proud to announce that Kate Benson, a former Levy lab post-baccalaureate, recently accepted an offer to become a PhD candidate at Texas A&M. She will be working under the mentorship of Dr. Les Morey.Dr. Morey's research interests include assessment, diagnosis and classification of personality and psychopathology, personality disorders, and alcoholism.Congratulations Kate! We wish you lots of success and look forward to hearing about your future accomplishments as a graduate student.

Samuel Riley

Levy lab senior research assistant Samuel Rileyhas been offered admittance into two different medical field programs. The first one, The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), is situated in northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the second one, The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine at Bradenton (LECOM-B), is located in Bradenton, Florida.The medical training for Osteopathic medicine and (D.O.)s is basically identical to that of an M.D. program. The difference lies in the fact that D.O. programs train their students to look at patients more holistically. These programs also provide additional training in Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy which involves chiropractic techniques.Samuel has decided to accept PCOM's invitation and will be graduating with a Doctor in Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree in the year 2018. He is also considering a specialization in a branch of internal medicine (Cardiology, Pulmonology, Gastroenterology, etc...) or possibly family medicine.

Jennifer Fox

We are proud to announce that Levy lab senior research assistant and cortisol coordinator Jennifer Fox was recently invited to join Teach for America (TFA). TFA is a well renowned program that focuses on reaching unprivileged areas and populations all across the country, with the purpose of achieving the highest level of educational equality. Some of the qualities they look for in their prospective teachers are high levels of commitment, leadership skills, superior interpersonal skills, strong academic achievement, great critical thinking skills, and respect for diversity in background and personal experiences. Jennifer has been assigned to serve as a middle school sciences teacher in Chicago, Illinois. Congratulations Jennifer!

Congratulations Matt!

The Levy Lab team is beyond thrilled to announce that research assistant and lab manager Matthew Perlman recently received and accepted an invitation to join Ohio University's Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Program. Matt will be studying under the mentorship of Dr. Timothy Anderson, an associate professor at the university who specializes in psychotherapy research. Dr. Anderson’s primary research interest is on the influence of interpersonal processes on psychosocial treatment.

Clinical is amongst the most competitive fields within psychology and so, gaining admittance into a doctoral program mirrors high academic achievement, and calls for high praise. Congratulations Matt, we wish you the very best and expect great things from you in the near future.

Congratulations are in order for our research assistant Sydney Risley, one of two recipients of the Costello Family Scholarship in Psychology. She was nominated by Cognition, Affect, and Temperament research lab's primary investigatorDr. Koraly Perez-Edgar who wished to recognize Sydney for her outstanding work in lab as well as high GPA. Dr. Perez Edgar goes on to describe Sydney as one of her most accomplished research assistants.Sydney was awarded the scholarship in early February of this year.

Levy Lab doctoral alumna Lori Scott was recently named assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Scott earned both her masters and doctoral degrees at Penn State University under the mentorship of Dr. Kenneth Levy, she then went on to complete her internship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC as well as the Clinical Research Training Program for Psychologists at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Scott's research interests include emotion dysregulation, aggression, and borderline personality disorder.

Jhanev Allen, Matthew Perlman and Shirley Rojas Acosta, all levy lab research assistants, were recently awarded with the Chaiken Family Trustee Scholarship. The Chaiken Family Trustee Scholarship is the largest scholarship ever received by the college of liberal arts. The donors, Gene and Roz Chaiken, instituted this in an effort to help qualified students be able to focus on their studies by reducing their financial burdens.

Both Matthew and Shirley were chosen to share their personal stories at the Chaiken Scholarship event held at Penn State's Moore building last October. Matthew spoke about how receiving the scholarship had provided him with the opportunity to spend more time volunteering and helping out in the community, as well as taking more responsibilities in his research lab. He also spoke about his graduate school plans and expressed his gratitude to the donors. Shirley spoke about how the scholarship had impacted not only her, but her family in the Dominican Republic who carry the burden of supporting two college students in America. She also shared her graduate school plans and expressed her appreciation for her donors' selfless aid.

Fellow status is a grand honor specially reserved for APA members who have done exceptional and groundbreaking work that has had great impact in the field of psychology beyond a local, state or regional level. Nominations are offered by the different APA Divisions, and the final decision is made by the association's Board of Directors and the Council of Representatives after careful review of nominees' contributions.

NASPR is the north american branch of the international association that is the Society for Psychotherapy Research. The main purposes of this multidisciplinary organization includes the encouragement of psychotherapy research, the sharing of new findings, and ultimately the enhancement of psychotherapy effectiveness.

The Kennedy Forum celebrated on October 23rd and 24th in Boston, MA and held in occasion of the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's Community Health Act brought together a number of individuals such as former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Vice President Joe Biden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Chelsea Clinton and our very own Dr. Kenneth Levy to discuss and advocate in favor of the forum's main goals of uniting the mental health community, pushing for further breakthroughs in policies having an impact on those living with mental illnesses, disabilities and addictions, removing the stigma surrounding mental illness, and achieving parity by treating the brain with the same importance with which we treat the body.

In regards to working with Congressman Kennedy, Dr. Levy commented that he "looks forward to future collaboration with Congressman Patrick Kennedy in working to establish parity guidelines that will assure those suffering from psychological difficulties receive the quality mental health care that they both need and deserve."

To read the full story featured in the Penn State News Pageyou may follow this link

Thank you for all of your hard work in the lab! We wish you all the very best in your future and hope that your time in the lab has been not only positive and pleasant, but also a valuable learning experience that has enhanced your time here at Penn State as well as your academic careers.

The North American Society for the Study of Personality Disorders (NASSPD) celebrated its annual conference in Boston, Massachusetts this past April 20th and 21rst. The NASSPD is dedicated to furthering the study of personality disorders, providing the public with the latest discoveries in the field, and advocating for the funding of these kinds of disorders.

This past Tuesday April 9th, four of our lab RAs -Shannon McCarrick, Jennifer Fox, Kevin Medved, and Neil Meyer- presented their research posters at the Penn State University 2013 Undergraduate Exhibition. This exhibition gives the opportunity to students across all of Penn State to present their research in arts and humanities, engineering, health and life sciences, physical sciences, and social and behavioral sciences, or course-based projects in any discipline. A winner from each category is also chosen to receive a prize.

Kudos to our RA and soon to be lab manager Mr. Neil Meyer, who was recently honored with the Outstanding Adult Student Award! Neil is the 2013 recipient of this very prestigious award which aims to recognize one adult student nominee who has been out of high school for four or more years, has begun or resumed his or her education after the age of 24, and serves as an example to peers due to a history of overcoming different obstacles while achieving academic excellence and contributing to the community.

In addition, Neil was also recently awarded a $3,000 Penn State Summer Discovery Grant to work on his original research project, under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Grant recipients are expected to seriously engage and immerse themselves in their projects, they are evaluated by their faculty supervisors towards the end of summer, and are to appear at the annual Undergraduate Exhibition the following Spring in order to present their work.

Congratulations Neil! Very well deserved.

To learn more about Neil's awards you may click on the following link:

Congratulations are in order for our new lab managers Neil Meyer and Matthew Perlman!

Neil is a Psychology B.S. major with and emphasis on neuroscience. He has been part of the lab since fall 2010. Matthew is also a Psychology B.S. major but with an emphasis on biological and evolutionary science. Matt has been part of the lab since spring 2012.

Starting fall 2013 both managers will be seniors.

To learn more about our new lab managers you may click on the following links: